I currently have four Verizon HD-DVR boxes, I can play shows recorded on one box from another box, but I can't schedule shows to record on a different box than the current box, I have to go to that room to schedule shows to record there.

If I buy more Roamio Pro boxes, or Mini's:
1) Can I watch a show recorded on one DVR from another DVR?
2) Can I schedule shows from one DVR to record on a different DVR?
3) Is there some sort of smart recording manager that will divide the recording tasks between all DVR's and use and share all tuners and all disk space efficiently?
4) Is there any quality or responsiveness degradation when watching from a Mini instead of the main DVR directly?

The Mini is just reflecting the host DVR into the other room, so anything you schedule on it will be recorded by the host DVR. Other then that the answer is pretty much no. Although you can use the iOS or Android apps to schedule recordings on any TiVo in your house, so you don't necessarily need to go into the other room to do it.

However the best setup would be to put a 6 tuner Roamio in the main room and then put Minis in the other rooms. That way everything is scheduled on one TiVo and you don't have to worry about where anything ends up. If you need more then 6 tuners or more then 4TB of space (3TB internal + 1TB external is current max) then you'll have to deal with multiple DVRs.

- When one Roamio watches a show recorded on another Roamio, does it stream the data remotely, or does it first need to transfer the file to the local device?
I.e. can I watch instantly, or do I need to wait?

- I've read that there are some things a Mini can't do because the menus are missing, e.g. priorities.
Is this an oversight or a bug that will be corrected, or will the Mini not truly be a remote UI where one never has to visit the Roamio TV?

Yes you can stream instantly Roamio to Roamio as well. (Premiere units can do this as well)

There are a few things missing on the Mini. It's not the same as using the TiVo directly. However someone did discover that if you use the short cuts (TiVo+1 and TiVo+2) you can still access the To Do List and SP Manager on the Mini.

I believe it's by design, but not sure why. At one point they enabled the menu items for some people, but they took them away. Apparently it's something they can just turn on/off at the head end and we're not really sure why they've decided to turn it off.

[QUOTE=ptr727;9790346
1) Can I watch a show recorded on one DVR from another DVR?
2) Can I schedule shows from one DVR to record on a different DVR?
3) Is there some sort of smart recording manager that will divide the recording tasks between all DVR's and use and share all tuners and all disk space efficiently?[/QUOTE]

Some thoughts from my perspective:
1) This can be done via the Mini, by transferring programs from one DVR to another (if a wired connection transfer is usually faster than reay time so you can watch immediately or by streaming between compatible TiVo devices [in this case can start the stream while program is still being recorded on first DVR]

2) Not directly but the iOS TiVo App [can't speak as to Android] lets you schedule any Roamio (or XL4) on your network wirelessly. So it is easy to schedule on DVR B while watching DVR A in another room.

3) We all wish... This has been one of the most requested features since time (or TiVo) began.